A Book On Hizbullah That Deserves Your Attention

We have often quoted Elijah J. Magnier's reports from Syria and Iraq. His insight and access to the various actors on the ground is unique. Yesterday he posted this request:

Elijah J. Magnier‏ @ejmalrai - 7:06 PM - 9 Feb 2018 I'm raising money for Writing My Book on Hezbollah. Every contribution helps, whatever the amount. Be my partner in this project! I can't do it without you. Click to Donate

Originally from Brussels Magnier reported from Beirut during the Lebanese civil war. During the U.S. war on Iraq and the following occupation he lived in Baghdad and Najaf. Over the last years he has covered the war on Syria and against the Islamic State.

While other writers sit in tinker tanks far away from the front, Elijah is there and talks with the relevant people.

Elijah Magnier on his way to an interview with the marājiʿaIman Ali Shrine, Najaf, Iraq, 2017- bigger

From his book description:

Hezbollah: The Unlikely PeacemakersFrom Domestic Resistance To A Regional Army

Hezbollah’s very existence arouses passion, and it is criticised as much for its alleged faults as for its achievements. As a war zone correspondent, I am privileged to have watched in person the creation and development of Hezbollah since 1982. I have met and interacted with many of its commanders during the last decades from Lebanon, to Bosnia, Iran, Syria and Iraq, and shared aspects of its activities on the ground, its weakness and strength. My unique experience (1982-2017), my inside information are of vital importance and need to be shared - through my book. Now I am ready to start writing but I can't do it without your donation. Whatever your views or allegiances, understanding this organisation has huge and surprising implications.

The book is expected – hopefully - to be published first in English and later in two more languages: Arabic and French.

Magnier's insight of Hizbullah will become an indispensable source for anyone interested in the modern history of the Middle East.

I've been wondering how long it would take for Israel to find a way to get involved. In the past, it has been content to let the United States do its dirty work, while providing intel and 'moral support'. Now it's been caught out and even had its nose bloodied. I seriously doubt either the Israeli high command nor its political leaders will be able to resist the urge to get more heavily involved. That said, it looks like they'll be the rubes in a sucker's game. They have little to gain and much to lose- not that it's stopped them before.

Given the benefit of a bit of time and research, the Israeli attack was clearly planned well in advance and relied on shooting down a routine surveillance drone monitoring the Golan border area as a false 'causus belli'

Israel has shot down drones quite a few times before in the Golan / Southern Lebanon area without any further action or even much interest.

This time the intent was to strike a significant number of targets in Syria - including near Palmyra. The drone (a small surveillance type) was the excuse.

It seems likely the attack in two waves was also pre-planned. Certainly all targets had been identified long ago. It only needed the order to be given.

One of the excuses give early on was the drone came from T4 and was controlled from there. Later video released showed the drone was tiny and control was a small truck near the Golan border.

Certain useful idiots like "The Aviationist" were tasked with spreading the RQ-170 sized drone operated from T4 story, but Israel quickly realised that story was untenable, so they left "The Aviationist" to hang out to dry.

Then came the propaganda waves. First Evil Iranian Drone violating innocent Israeli airspace (at best occupied Golan, but unlikely), then rightfully shooting it down and rightfully bombing of assorted juicy targets. The F16 shoot-down was icing on the cake. Israel now had an excuse to launch a much wider attack against not only Iranian positions but against new air defence facilities including Buk Missile batteries.

I've been following Elijah on twitter since I first heard of him from MOA. Not only is the depth of his information and knowledge extraordinary, but he has been so generous and kind in his interaction with this ordinary citizen that I can only say he is quite the Mensch!

Augustus Richard Norton's work on Hezbollah is honest and courageous, in that it does not cater to certain biases. It's ten years old, and a lot has changed; Magnier's fresh insights will be welcome.https://www.c-span.org/video/?201792-1/hezbollah

The C Span video is from 2007, and Norton's voice was rare even then. C Span has become increasingly, belligerently Anglo-Zio-centric.

And Yes, the photo in the shrine is breathtaking! It was my great privilege to visit several shrines in Iran; to be in such a place is to touch the infinite.

I read Norton´s book just this summer and I would say it is interesting, although not without the obvious bias a US observer always has, otherwise Princeton University would have never published it.

Related to this Elijah J. Magnier, whom you cite almost everyday as if he was "The Oracle" himself, I wonder whether he is a free-lance journalist, since as everybody by this time already knows, correspondents for main newspapers and agencies in ME countries/wars have often ties to intelligence agencies, as was the case during the somehow obscured case of all those Western correspondents who were killed or made prisoners in the Baba Amro califate when it was liberated by the SAA...

Another thing that intrigues me is that when you talked about that Sulome Anderson´s claims on having Hezbollah´s direct testimonies you affirmed that Hezbollah commanders and members do not concede interviews ever, and so, if this is so, is Elijah J. Magnier an exception, and in case he is, why?